Title:
It Started With A Kiss (惡作劇之吻)
Number of Episodes:
20
Broadcast Year:
2005-2006
Based on:
the manga "Itazura na kiss" by Tada Kaoru.

mangauniverse's Rating:
4.4 out of 5

Quick Synopsis:
Yuan Xiang Qin (Ariel Lin) is a naive but optimistic high school girl. Ever since she met Jiang Zhi Shu (Joe Cheng) at the freshman orientation, she's fallen in love with the genius with an IQ of 200. After two years of having a crush on him, she finally musters the courage to confess to him at school. Zhi Shu is not impressed, and his cold-hearted rejection immediately turns her into the biggest joke of the school.

Misfortune comes in a pair: that evening, the new house she has just moved into with her father collapses in a minor earthquake. She and her father are instantly left homeless. Fortunately, her father's old high school friend extends a helping hand and invites both of them to live at his house. Little did Xiang Qin know that the kind Uncle Li is actually the father of Jiang Zhi Shu! Because of the unexpected turn of events, the two of them begin living their lives under the same roof.

Nothing has ever seemed too hard for Zhi Shu; he's overcome every obstacle in his life with a practiced ease. However, Xiang Qin's appearance is like a tornado, turning his perfectly organized life into a whirlwind of unpredictable events. Despite his initial coldness and annoyance, Xiang Qin's blind courage and determination causes him to re-evaluate and think about his own life and future.

Will this be enough to win Zhi Shu's heart? Or will Xiang Qin break down under the full blast of Zhi Shu's coldness?
(
Note: Credits to wiki.d-addicts.com for the great synopsis of the plot I really couldn't have summarized it better ^^
)

mangauniverse's Review:
This was a really refreshing love comedy! Actually I had downloaded episode 1 way back when that was airing, but I didn't like the lqness of the file and didn't really like any of the characters that I saw so I quickly decided not to follow it. However, I'm glad I changed my mind and decided to give it another try because otherwise I would have missed this great show ^^ Still even after having decided to give it a second chance, I didn't have any high expectations of it and I doubted I'd like the Ariel Lin or her character in this drama. However, she played the role really well and you can't help but like that silly female main character. The interactions between the two main characters are so funny ^^ *he's so mean to her~* but you can see how their relationship grows.

For once the taiwanese production actually skipped the whole recycling of actors *at least I didn't notice anything* so that's a plus ^^ However, the sidecharacters... no development whatsoever. And most of them are waaay too silly and unrealistic... excessive amount of that can become a bit annoying, but well one shouldn't dwell too much on that ^^;; Another negative aspect is there's no real sense of three years passing in this drama *I was mighty surprised to suddenly find that out* Also, in my opinion there was some questionable stuff as to why things became the way they did... referring to
when Zhi Shu decided to date that other girl... I don't think the reason behind it was reasonable at all. I prolly need to rewatch and see if I can make more sense of it.

The ending however totally blew my mind XD Loved it! It was so CUUUTE!! *grins like silly when thinking about it* Now that was a really satisfying ending ^-^ So I really recommend it!! Below you have some pics from the drama:

hm... i watched a little bit of this drama once when i was in taiwan, and it didn't really catch my attention... and then after seeing ariel lin's (not-very-likable) performance in
love contract
, i didn't really feel like seeing anything else with her in it -_-;;

BUT...

quote:
Actually I had downloaded episode 1 way back when that was airing, but I didn't like the lqness of the file and didn't really like any of the characters that I saw so I quickly decided not to follow it. However, I'm glad I changed my mind and decided to give it another try because otherwise I would have missed this great show ^^ Still even after having decided to give it a second chance, I didn't have any high expectations of it and I doubted I'd like the Ariel Lin or her character in this drama. However, she played the role really well and you can't help but like that silly female main character.

now that you've said that, i think i'll try it out. ^^

but, while you were watching it, did you find any of the acting annoying? as in, overly-corny/cheesy, no character development, etc?_________________Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

@moofii: I think more or less answered your question in my review (last paragraph) ^^;;;; As I stated there really isn't any character development *which is always a negative thing* And yes... some sidecharacters were really cheesy but that was bearable since I didn't find the main characters to be that way *though that the male character got a bit annoying in the end in how he refused to acknowledge his feelings... but that's another thing I guess ^^*

Hahahaha, I also first watched Ariel Lin in Love Contract and good grief if she was annoying! Totally unlikable... I stopped around ep3 <____< Maybe it gets better later on? *dunno...* I liked Mike He in Love Contract though... he was cute ^^ I think he over-acted in Devil Beside Me and that's also the feeling I kinda got from watching the few first episodes of Express Boy... however I do plan to watch Express Boy sometime all the way through ^^_________________Thanx to Joanne Kuang for the awesome avatar!

Sun 04 Jun, 2006 06:20 PM

linachanGuest

Re: Review: It Started With A Kiss

I looked at 1 ep of ISWAK when my friends wanted to watch it (the ep where Yuan Xiang Qin joins the tennis club and got a broken nose). I thought she was annoying and overly dumb x__x, but one of my friends still recommends it to me...maybe I' ll watch later and fall in love with it O__o

Tue 06 Jun, 2006 07:38 PM

desertrose281Guest

Re: Review: It Started With A Kiss

hmm.. i still havent finished watching this drama.. it got too tedious and repetitive for me.. plus, i started watching devil beside you halfway through so ISWK got thrown to the side, lol.. i do plan to finish watching it at some stage tho.. it wasnt that bad..